Here's Why We See Faces Everywhere

Here's Why We See Faces Everywhere

When we look at the front of a car, or an electrical outlet, or even a piece of toast, it's inevitable that we'll eventually see a face staring back at us. Sometimes, it feels a little bit like we're surrounded by faces. That's because we kind of are: As a new DNews video explains, our brains try to find faces everywhere — and often succeed.

The term for this tendency to see faces in objects that don't actually have them is "pareidolia," the video says. This phenomenon has actually been traced to a part of our brain called the "fusiform face area," which is active when look at actual human faces and face-like things, such as cars. Conversely, when we can't recognize people's faces (a condition called "prosopagnosia") this area doesn't activate or integrate with other neural systems in the same way.

This all means that yes, some cars really do look much friendlier than others. And, you're not totally crazy for talking to your trusty Bug. Turns out we're pretty much always on the lookout for potential friends.